Faith Academy girls basketball races to 3-1 district record

CAPTION: Faith Academy senior guard Ella Cozby scores for the Lady Flames during the win against Waco Bishop Reicher Jan. 16. Photo by Stennis Shotts

The Faith Academy girls basketball team lost to Bryan Brazos Christian 55-17 Jan. 18 to end a three-game winning streak in District 3-3A of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools.

The Lady Flames (3-1) defeated Waco Bishop Reicher 63-13 Jan. 16, Temple Central Texas Christian 41-38 Jan. 9, and Temple Holy Trinity 96-11 Jan. 5.

Brazos (3-0) came into The Fire Pit without playing Jan. 16 because of bad weather. The Lady Eagles led the Lady Flames 12-5 after the first quarter and 25-8 at the half.

Senior guard Ella Cozby and sophomore Natalie Weems each had 5 points, while senior post Morgan Weems added 4, and senior forward Claire Poage scored 3.

The Lady Flames played a defense they hadn’t shown after Canada thought about the personnel and her players’ experiences in being able to implement something brand new.

“I threw it at them before the (Brazos) game,” she said. “They ran it really well. I like the way they adjust. They did it, they did really well.”

Reicher had 25 rebounds, 4 assists and 8 steals. Faith had 54 rebounds, 18 assists and 24 steals.

Central Texas Christian led 12-7 after the first quarter and 21-19 at the half. The Lady Flames outscored the Lady Lions 13-6 in the third stanza for a 32-27 advantage headed into the final stanza.

Poage led with 12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and a block. Senior guard Elleson Lehmberg recorded 11 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Senior forward Alayna Steele had 5 points and 6 rebounds, while Cozby had 5 points, 5 rebounds and a steal. Freshman Lilly Koziel scored 4 points and senior Audri Poage and freshman Sidney Solomon each dropped in 2.

Against Holy Trinity, Faith scored all the points it needed in the opening stanza when the Lady Flames led 39-1. They increased the lead in the second period thanks to dropping in 32 points for a 71-7 advantage.

Claire Poage had 23 points, 6 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 assists. Cozby had 15 points, 5 steals, 7 assists and 4 rebounds. Sophomore post Natalie Weems had 14 points, 12 rebounds, 4 steals and an assist, while Lehmberg had 12 points, 12 steals, 7 assists and 4 rebounds.

Head coach Kat Canada noted her team is in the heart of its district schedule, pointing out Faith is facing three teams expected to make the playoffs, which includes Brazos. The others are Waco Live Oak (4-0), which comes to Marble Falls at 1:15 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 20, and Round Rock Christian (3-1), which visits the Fire Pit at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 23.

The coach believes her players are more than capable of facing the challenges ahead.

“They’re seasoned, they’re seniors,” she said. “I like this team because even though we have a lot of seniors, they are learning to adjust.”

She also decided to play three posts at the same time in an effort to take advantages of mismatches.

They’ve come a long way, Canada said, from four years ago when the athletes were learning her system and getting to know her. She can see their confidence and belief

“My girls always work hard,” she said. “I’m super proud of them. They’ve come a long way.”

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